Omnivorous feeding by planktotrophic larvae of the eastern oyster Crassostrea virginica

Abstract

Oyster larvae feed upon bacteria, phagotrophic protozoans and phototrophs present in the diverse summer plankton assemblages of Chesapeake Bay. Prodissoconch II oyster larvae cleared 0.2 to 30 μm 14C-labeled plankton (primarily phototrophs) at a rate of 0.0825 ml larva-1 h-1, and 0.2 to 30 μm 3H-labeled plankton (heterotrophic bacteria and phagotrophic protozoans) at a rate of 0.0017 ml larva-1 h-1. Oyster larvae consumed a wide size range of food particles and selectively ingested 20-30 μm organisms. -from Authors